Monday, May 25, 2009

As our heads spin around with all of the things that need to be done and all of the paperwork that now needs to be completed, I thought I would take a break and post a few pictures of Isabella's room. For those of you that know me, you will not be surprised that it is lavendar. We still plan on getting some shelves and artwork, but the essentials are complete.

I am also posting a picture of our letter of acceptance. We have signed and sent it back. Our agency should receive it tomorrow morning and then off to China it goes!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

I am shouting from the rooftops ... we got our LOA today!! I cannot believe it! This means that China has approved us to be Isabella's parents! HUGE step. It also means that we can post pics. I will post a couple now and post more later.

Now we wait to receive our travel approval, which can take another month or two.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

We continue to wait for our letter of acceptance. As far as we know, there have not been any LOA's sent in quite some time. Rumors are flying around regarding the swine flu, BUT we do know that China has just recently given some families their Travel Approvals. Yeah! Good news! In our hearts, we were hoping to receive our LOA by the end of May, but know that it will probably take longer. Always thought that once we got our referral, I would be content in knowing that our daughter is there waiting and that we would be bringing her home soon. Wrong! I am even more anxious now that I have seen her precious little face and learned her story. I have grown to love her more than I could even imagine without even holding her in my arms. Please pray that we are given peace and strength to wait. We have waited this long ... what is another few months??

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Just wanted to post a quick message to say Happy Mother's Day to all of the mommies out there. Whether you are a mom, about to be a mom, are a birth mom, foster mom, grandma, or have a mom ... this is a day for us to stop and reflect and say thank-you to all moms. This is an especially wonderful mother's day for me as I now know who our daughter is and that we will be able to spend next mother's day with her. I am so blessed to now have three precious children from God. Aidan and Keenan gave me three ferns today to hang on the deck around the pool. One for Aidan, one for Keenan and one for Isabella. How thoughtful! They think of her, talk about her, and pray for her like she has always been part of our family.We are so blessed that Isabella is with a foster family. We just know that she is being loved and cared for and we are so grateful.

The Fam

Welcome

Welcome to our blog. We are the Garland family. Michael, Heather, Aidan (12), Keenan (9), Isabella (8) and Eli (3). We brought Isabella home in August of 2009, and Eli home in February 2013. We hope you enjoy our journey as a family of 6!

Aidan

Keenan

Bella

Eli

Our four blessings

Timeline

February 15: Apply to CCAI;
February 16: Apply to FAC (homestudy agency);
May 24: Received Final Homestudy;
May 25: Sent I800A application to USCIS;
July 11: USCIS Approval;
July 20: DTC;
July 24: LID;
August 9: LOI submitted to China, Eli's file locked!!;
August 17: Pre-approval from China;
September 19: Out of Translation;
November 1: LOA;
November 21: USCIS Provisional 800 Approval;
December 18: Article 5 issued;
January 9: Travel Approval!;
January 21: Eli in our arms forever!!